For a growing business, the question eventually comes up: should we keep using a managed IT provider, or is it time to hire somebody internally?
There is no single user count where one option suddenly becomes right. The better answer depends on how much day-to-day IT work exists, how specialised the environment is, how much coverage the business needs and whether one person can realistically provide all of the skills involved.
The short answer
Managed IT usually makes sense for small and mid-sized businesses that need reliable support, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 management, backup and ongoing maintenance but do not have enough work to justify a full internal IT team.
In-house IT becomes more attractive when technology is deeply embedded in day-to-day operations, the business needs somebody physically available most of the time, or there is enough ongoing project and support work to keep an internal role busy.
For some businesses, the best answer is both: an internal IT person who understands the business in detail, backed by a managed provider for security, escalation, coverage and specialist work.
What is the difference between managed IT and in-house IT?
Managed IT means an external provider takes ongoing responsibility for an agreed part of the technology environment. That can include user support, Microsoft 365, computers, cybersecurity, backup, networks, documentation, onboarding and offboarding, provider coordination and planning.
In-house IT means the business employs its own IT staff. That person or team works directly for the organisation and can spend all of their time on its systems, projects and users.
Neither model is automatically better. They solve the same broad problem in different ways.
Managed IT vs in-house IT: cost
The easiest mistake is comparing a managed service fee with an employee’s base salary and stopping there. The real comparison is the total cost of each model and what capability that cost actually buys.
Q10 publishes current managed IT pricing so businesses can make that comparison with real numbers. For 10 managed computer users, our current Essentials plan is $2,200 per month ex GST and Advanced is $2,700 per month ex GST. For 20 managed computer users, Essentials is $4,100 per month ex GST and Advanced is $5,100 per month ex GST.
Those figures include Microsoft 365 Business Premium for managed computer users, day-to-day support, computer management, Microsoft 365 backup, core cybersecurity controls, 24/7 detection and response, documentation and ongoing management. You can see the full breakdown on our Managed IT Pricing page.
With an internal employee, salary is only the starting point. As a simple illustration, a $90,000 salary plus 12% employer super is already $100,800 before recruitment, leave coverage, equipment, software, training and the cost of specialist help when the issue sits outside that person’s experience.
That does not mean managed IT is always cheaper. Once a business has enough technology work every day, an internal role can deliver enormous value. The point is to compare the whole arrangement rather than one headline number.
Where managed IT tends to have an advantage
Broader coverage
A managed provider can spread different work across people with different skills. The person helping with a printer issue does not also need to be the best person to investigate Microsoft 365 identity, a firewall problem, a backup failure and a security incident.
Coverage when somebody is away
One internal employee still gets sick, takes leave and eventually changes jobs. A managed provider should have documentation and a support process that does not depend on one person’s memory.
Security and management tools
Managed services usually bundle the systems used to monitor, patch, secure, back up and document the environment. An internal hire may still need many of those tools and external security services separately.
Provider coordination
Internet, phones, Microsoft 365 and line-of-business software often overlap. A managed provider can stay involved across those boundaries rather than leaving the office manager to translate technical messages between suppliers.
Where in-house IT tends to have an advantage
Deep business context
An internal employee is immersed in the organisation every day. They can understand unusual workflows, internal politics, specialist software and upcoming changes in a way that takes an external provider longer to learn.
Immediate physical presence
If the business has constant hands-on requirements, warehouses, production systems, specialist equipment or frequent onsite changes, having somebody physically there can be valuable.
Continuous project work
Some organisations have enough internal systems, integrations, reporting, automation and improvement work to keep a capable IT person busy even when the helpdesk is quiet. At that point the role is doing much more than support.
What about a 10, 20 or 40-person business?
There is no hard threshold, but the shape of the decision usually changes as the business grows.
Around 10 users
A dedicated internal IT hire is difficult to justify for most conventional businesses at this size. There may be plenty of important technology, but not necessarily 38 hours of useful internal IT work every week. Managed IT generally gives the business access to broader capability without building an internal department.
Around 20 users
Managed IT can still make strong financial and operational sense, particularly where the environment is mostly Microsoft 365, cloud applications, managed computers, internet and phones. An internal hire may make sense earlier if the business has specialist systems or unusually high support demand.
Around 40 users and beyond
This is where an internal role can become easier to justify, but it still depends heavily on the business. Many organisations at this size use a hybrid model: an internal IT manager or technician handles business-specific work while an MSP provides helpdesk depth, security monitoring, backup, escalation and leave coverage.
The hybrid model is often overlooked
The decision does not have to be entirely outsourced or entirely internal. An internal IT person can own priorities, applications and business projects while a managed provider handles the repeatable platform work around Microsoft 365, endpoints, cybersecurity, backup and support escalation.
This can also remove one of the biggest risks of a one-person IT department: everything living in one person’s head. The MSP provides documentation, tooling and another technical team to call when something unusual happens.
Questions to ask before choosing
- Is there genuinely enough useful IT work for a full-time internal role?
- Do we need someone physically onsite most days?
- How important is coverage when that person is sick, on leave or unavailable?
- Do we need several different technical skill sets, or mostly one specialised capability?
- Who will handle cybersecurity monitoring, backup and escalation?
- Who owns relationships with Microsoft, internet carriers, phone providers and software vendors?
- Are we trying to hire a helpdesk technician, a systems engineer, a security person, a project manager or all four in one job description?
Which option is better for an Australian small business?
For many small businesses, managed IT is the more practical starting point because it provides a team, tooling and ongoing coverage without the cost and management overhead of building an IT department.
As the business becomes larger or more technology-heavy, internal IT starts to make more sense. In some cases the right answer is to hire internally and keep the MSP rather than replacing one with the other.
If your business only needs technical help a few times a year, neither a managed service nor a full-time employee may make sense. A genuinely ad-hoc support arrangement can still be the right model for a very small or simple environment.
If you are comparing the options, start with the actual workload, systems and risks rather than a user count alone. Our Managed IT Services page explains what Q10 includes, and the pricing page shows current worked examples for common team sizes.
Q10 supports businesses across Townsville, Cairns and wider North Queensland. If you are trying to work out whether managed IT, an internal hire or a hybrid arrangement makes more sense, we can talk through the current setup without pretending that outsourcing is always the answer.
Featured photo by Campaign Creators via Unsplash.